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Appendices
Issue Resolution
When a health, safety and/or welfare issue arises in relation to bridge or gantry crane operation, the employer and employees affected must attempt to resolve it. The employees are entitled to be represented by their HSR in this process.
Section 73 of the OHS Act details how health and safety issues are to be resolved at the workplace. The employer or their representative (i.e. manager, supervisor) and employees affected by an issue must try to resolve health and safety issues using agreed workplace procedures. The employer or representative attempting to resolve health and safety issues must be sufficiently senior and competent to act and make decisions. If the issue can’t be resolved, a WorkSafe Victoria inspector can be called in to assist in this process.
For more information on the duty to consult, please refer to the WorkSafe Victoria’s publications Guides Talking Safety Together and Consultation – A User’s Guide.
Contractors
Employers’ legal duty to provide and maintain a safe work environment applies to employees, contractors and labour hire workers.
Young workers
Young Victorian workers aged between 15 and 24 are more likely to be injured at work than any other age group. Young workers must be properly trained, supervised and provided with sufficient information so that they can
work safely. Supervision especially needs to be tailored for young people’s needs. See worksafe.vic.gov.au/youngworkers.
Reasonably practicable
When determining ‘reasonably practicable’ controls, Section 20 of the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 outlines what you must take into account when deciding if something is ‘reasonably practicable’. Specifically, the factors to be taken into account are:
• the likelihood of the hazard or risk eventuating
• the degree of harm that would result if the hazard or risk eventuated
• what the person concerned knows, or ought reasonably to know, about the hazard or risk and any ways of eliminating or reducing the hazard or risk
• the availability and suitability of ways to eliminate or reduce the hazard or risk
• the cost of eliminating or reducing the hazard or risk.
It’s important to understand that all the factors listed above have to be taken into account when deciding if something is ‘reasonably practicable’.
For further information, refer to the WorkSafe Position How WorkSafe applies the law in relation to Reasonably Practicable.
34 Handbook / Working safely with bridge and gantry cranes WorkSafe Victoria